Edible products with low content of saturated and trans unsaturated fats

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a structured, fat continuous edible product, wherein the edible product contains, expressed on total product basis, a) less than 30 wt. % of saturated fatty acids, b) between 20 and 100 wt. % of a triglyceride composition c) between 0 and 80 wt % of a filler material d) less than 15 wt. % of water wherein the triglyceride composition contains with respect to the weight of the triglyceride composition e) less than 45 wt. % of saturated fatty acids, f) less than 10 wt. % of trans unsaturated fatty acids g) at least 8 wt. % of SUS triglycerides, wherein S is a C16-18 saturated fatty acid, U is unsaturated fatty acid having at least 18 C atoms, h) less than 15 wt. % of S3, i) at least 90 wt. % of C8-18 fatty acids, j) at least 75 wt. % of C18 fatty acids including saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, k) has an SFC at 20° C. of between 5 and 50%. The present invention also relates to the use of this structured product in the preparation of fat continuous as well as non-fat continuous products.

The present invention relates to a structured, fat continuous edibleproduct. The present invention also relates to triglyceride compositionssuitable for use in such an edible product and to processes forproducing such an edible product.

1. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In a wide variety of food products, fat is used as a major component notonly because of its nutritional importance, but also because of its widerange of functional properties. Fat has been found to be an ingredientwhich may be suitably combined with a wide variety of dry ingredients,often powdery ingredients. In these applications the fat will mostly beadded in the liquid state or under shortenised form to a homogeneousmass of the dry ingredients. In other applications fat is combined withwater and some dry ingredients. A homogeneous product is obtained whenemulsifying the fat with the water.

One of the most important functional properties of the fat is its effecton the structure of the final food product in which it is incorporated.The structure of a product depends on both its recipe—i.e. the amountand nature of the fat and the other ingredients—and on the processaccording to which the product is made. For example processing stepssuch as emulsification, heating, tempering, influence the structure ofthe product obtained.

An example of a food product where the nature of the incorporated fathas a prominent effect on the structure is chocolate. Chocolate has ahard structure because of the incorporation of cocoa butter which is ahard fat; confectionery creams like medium hard sandwich creams containa medium hard fat; spreads for example chocolate spreads, contain highamounts of liquid oil giving the typical soft and spreadable endproduct. In each of these examples fat is combined with at least onepowdery ingredient (for example sugar, milk powder, cocoa powder, etc. .. . ).

Depending on the intended application and the final structure envisagedfor the application, a fat will be chosen with a specific Solid FatContent (SFC) as a function of temperature. Typical SFC-profiles fordifferent applications are illustrated in EP-A-739.589 table 22a. TheSFC-profile depends mainly on the nature of the fatty acids making upthe (tri)glycerides of the fat, on the triglyceride composition, and onthe method used to solidify the fat—in particular the crystallisationtime and temperature, whether the product has been subjected totempering or not, etc. Whether a fat at a certain temperature is liquidor solid is determined not only by the chain length of the fatty acids,but in particular by the type of fatty acid, i.e. whether it issaturated or non-saturated, and in case of non-saturated fatty acids,the type of isomer, cis or trans. For products that need a rather firmstructure, usually a fat with a rather high SFC-profile will beselected, meaning that the fat will contain a quite high amount ofsaturated fatty acids and/or trans isomers of non-saturated fatty acids.Saturated fatty acids (SAFA) are abundantly present in natural fats likecocoa butter, palm oil, palmkernel oil, coconut oil, tallow, etc. Transfatty acids (TFA) of natural origin are mainly found in ruminant fats.Natural vegetable oils and fats do not contain this trans isomer.Although TFA are unsaturated fatty acids, their structure and meltingprofile is much closer to that of the corresponding saturated fatty acidthan to that of their cis-form.

Although a wide range of hard structural fats suitable for producingstructured products is naturally available, there is still a big needfor fats with a solid structure and a major fatty acid chain rangingfrom C14 to C20. To obtain such fats, hydrogenation of liquid oils likesoy, rapeseed, sunflower, groundnut oil to hard fats has been widelyused. Hydrogenation also called “hardening” is usually carried out inthe presence of a catalyst. However, hydrogenation not only involvesconversion of unsaturated fatty acids into saturated fatty acids (SAFA),but also conversion of cis-unsaturated fatty acids into trans-isomers(TFA). Both the increased amount of SAFA and TFA contribute inconverting the liquid oil into a hard fat upon hydrogenation. However,although from a functional point the use of a fat with a rather highamount of SAFA and/or TFA will be recommended to obtain the desiredstructure, from a nutritional point it is highly preferred to limit theamount of these fatty acids. It has been demonstrated that consumptionof SAFA and TFA increases the risk to the occurrence of cardiovasculardiseases. Therefore official instances, like WHO, have issued maximumrecommended levels of daily intake of SAFA and TFA. Studies on theconsumption patterns of fats in food, like the so-called Transfairstudy, conducted in a number of European countries, indicate that thedaily intake of both SAFA and TFA is in a large number of countries fartoo high.

There is thus a need for triglyceride containing food systems, foodproducts and edible products with a limited level of SAFA and/or TFA,which nevertheless show the desired hard or semi-hard structureappropriate for the intended application. There is also a need fortriglyceride compositions which enable producing edible products with asufficiently hard structure, but with a limited level of SAFA and/orTFA, and to a process for producing such compositions.

2. PRIOR ART

From EP-A-719.090 healthy fats for use in spreads or margarine are knownwhich have a saturated fatty acid content below 35 wt. %. The fatsfurther contain 5-45 wt. % S2U, 0-60 wt. % SU2, 5-95 wt. % U3 and 0-8wt. % S3. The diglyceride content is below 5 wt. % as it is believedthat the presence of diglycerides in margarine fats has a negativeimpact on the crystallization behavior. The fats disclosed inEP-A-719.090 are characterized by a flat SFC-profile which is typicalfor margarines, expressed as (N5-N20) being less than 10, where N5 andN20 mean the SFC at respectively 5 and 20° C. The structuring propertiesprovided by the fat composition of EP-A-719.090 are mainly attributed tothe presence of 1.5-4 wt. % of behenic acid in the fat. Water in oilemulsions prepared from these fats show a good hardness. When producingthe spread, the fat, water and some of the other ingredients andadditives are mixed and pasteurized at 85° C., followed by a cooling andcrystallization process.

EP-A-875.152 relates to lamination fats with improved laminationproperties, good structuring properties, in particular a good hardnessand a low saturated fatty acid content. According to EP-A-875.152 thisis achieved by the presence of a minimum amount of long chain fattyacids in the triglycerides, in particular by the presence of a minimumamount of arachidic and behenic acid. The fat blend further comprises70-85 wt. % of a liquid oil and at least 15 wt. % of (H2M+H3)triglycerides, and has a saturated fatty acid content of less than 50wt. %, a N35<35 and an N20 of 15-40 wt. %. In the above, H designatessaturated fatty acids with at least 16 carbon atoms, M designatessaturated fatty acids with 6-14 C atoms. The blend is characterised by acertain minimum Stevens hardness so that it suitable for use in puffpastry. The Stevens hardness of the fat blend, which is the hardnessmeasured at 20° C. with a Stevens Texture Analyzer using a cylindricalprobe of 4.4 mm diameter, is at least 150 g, preferably between 150 and800 g. The SAFA-content of the fat blends disclosed in the examplesranges from 29 to 35.2%, the solid fat content at 35° C. ranges from10.6 to 23.3%.

EP-A-687.142 discloses bakery fats with a saturated fatty acid contentof less than 40 wt. %, a trans fatty acid content of less than 5 wt. %,a N20 of at least 10%, a S2U content of 5-50 wt. %, a (U2S+U3) contentof at least 35 wt. % and a S3 content of 0-37 wt. %. It is explainedthat the properties of the baked products are at least similar to thoseof products having a higher saturated fatty acid content. To achievethis, the dough fat contains a fat component A which is rich inSUS-triglycerides and preferably contains 5-30 wt. % of behenic acid.From the examples it can be seen that preparation of the dough is doneby blending the molten fat components, followed by cooling the melt andcool storage overnight, so as to obtain a plasticised fat which issuitable for mixing with the remaining dry ingredients of the dough andwater.

EP-A-731.645 discloses blends of a sugar and a triglyceride componentwith a SAFA content which is lower than usual, i.e. below 45 wt. %. Thetriglyceride component comprises at least 40 wt. % of SU2 and 3-50 wt. %of S2U, it is free of TFA and has an N20 of at least 35 and an N30 ofless than 10. It is explained that the triglyceride component containsat least 10 wt. % of behenic acid, that the triglyceride componentcontains less than 25 wt. % of StUSt (U=Unsaturated Fatty Acid;St=C18-0) and that the presence of 0.1 to 10 wt. % of trisaturatedtriglycerides, especially from palm oil stearin, gives betterstructuring properties. The blends are suitable for use in filling fatsand ice cream coatings. Regardless of their limited SAFA-content, theblends display a good product performance, meaning an acceptabletexture, a sufficiently high hardness and good oral meltingcharacteristics. The fillings and coatings are prepared by mixing theingredients, roll-refining and conching, followed by a cooling process(called “tempering”) to below 20° C., preferably below 15° C. During thecooling process a working amount of fat seeds, e.g. cocoa butter seedsmay be added. In the examples it is explained that after cooling andstoring of the fillings at low temperature for longer periods (e.g. 16hrs. at 7° C. followed by 1 week at 13° C. or 18 hrs at 13° C. in case aseeding agent was used), an acceptable hardness was found. Example 4discloses a filling fat with a Stevens' hardness at 20° C. of 158 g, thefilling contained 50 wt. % of fat, the fat contained 41.7 wt. % of SAFA.

From EP-A-1.543.728 a fatty thickening composition is known, which issuitable for thickening a fat based composition. The thickeningcomposition contains between 15 and 45 wt. % of at least onehydrogenated fat and between 85 and 55 wt. % of at least one liquid oil.The hydrogenated fat is preferably a fully hydrogenated fat with atleast 15 wt. % of fatty acids having more than 18 carbon atoms,preferably maximum 22 carbon atoms. The preferred hydrogenated fat ishydrogenated high erucic acid rapeseed oil. According to example 1,cooling of a blend of 25 parts fully hydrogenated high erucic acidrapeseed oil with 75 parts of rapeseed oil gives a solid final product.

All of the above-mentioned patent publications address the problem ofproviding a structuring fat composition which is low in SAFA, whichdisplays an acceptable hardness and is suitable for use in a finalproduct. However, each time this problem is solved by the use of a fatcomponent which contains behenic and/or arachidic acid, i.e. longhydrocarbon chain fatty acids as the structuring agent. Behenic acid ismostly obtained by hydrogenation. Triglycerides containing one or moreof these fatty acids risk to create a waxy mouth feel upon eating,caused by their high melting point, as can be seen by their high solidfat content at 35° C. To avoid the presence of high meltingtriglycerides, containing more than one of these long chain fatty acids,chemical or enzymatic interesterification is often applied, followed byfractionation. However, this is a complicated and expensive productionmethod. On top of that, sources of behenic and arachidic acid are quiteexpensive, as their availability is quite limited.

3. OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

There is thus a need for a structured fat continuous edible glyderidecontaining product with a limited content of saturated and/or transfatty acids, and a hardness that is sufficiently high and appropriatefor the intended application. There is also a need to triclyceridecompositions for use in this edible product and to a process forproducing such edible products.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide such astructured, fat continuous edible product, which in addition has anacceptable texture, a good mouthfeel and a good nutritional profile. Inparticular it is an object of this invention to provide such a edibleproduct with a harder structure than could be expected on the basis ofthe triglyceride composition present in the edible product of thisinvention, in particular on the basis of the saturated and trans fattyacid content.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a process for theproduction of such a structured, fat continuous edible product, showinga sufficient hardness, at a concentration of saturated and trans fattyacids that is significantly smaller than can be expected from theteaching of the prior art.

It is also an object of this invention to provide triglyceridecompositions for use in this edible product.

4. DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

This object is achieved according to the present invention, with astructured, fat continuous edible product showing the technical featuresof the first claim.

Thereto, the edible product contains, expressed on total product basis,

-   -   a) less than 30 wt. % of saturated fatty acids,    -   b) between 20 and 100 wt. % of a triglyceride composition    -   c) between 0 and 80 wt % of a filler material    -   d) less than 15 wt. % of water        wherein the triglyceride composition contains with respect to        the weight of the triglyceride composition    -   e) less than 45 wt. % of saturated fatty acids,    -   f) less than 10 wt. % of trans unsaturated fatty acids    -   g) at least 8 wt. % of SUS triglycerides, wherein S is a C16-18        saturated fatty acid, U is unsaturated fatty acid having at        least 18 C atoms,    -   h) less than 15 wt. % of S3,    -   i) at least 90 wt. % of C8-18 fatty acids,    -   j) at least 75 wt. % of C18 fatty acids including saturated and        unsaturated fatty acids,    -   k) has an SFC at 20° C. of between 5 and 50%.

In the above filler material means a non-glyceride edible solidmaterial, preferably present in powdery form.

Within the scope of this invention, fat continuous products areunderstood to designate products in which the continuous phase is formedby the fat. Examples of such fat continuous products are chocolatefillings and spreads. Baked products or french fries are not to beconsidered as fat continuous products within the scope of thisinvention, as the continuous phase of these products is not formed bythe fat it contains. Within the scope of this invention, “structuredproduct” means a product with a structure which does not spontaneouslyand visually separate into two or more phases at room temperature afterless than 24 hours of storage.

The edible product of this invention may contain ingredients whichthemselves contain an oil or fat, for instance hazelnut paste. In thatcase the hazelnut oil present in the hazelnut paste is considered aspart of the triglyceride composition, and the fat free part of thehazelnut paste is considered as part of the filler material. Within thescope of the present invention the filler material, if present, is aningredient that is added on purpose to the edible product of the presentinvention. Thus a product consisting of 100% grinded oilseeds, even incase it forms a paste is considered as a filler material, even though itcould be considered an oil continuous product, is not to be consideredas an edible product according to the invention as its components havenot been combined on purpose.

The inventors have found that the edible product of this invention takesa solid structure, even in case only a small part of the triglyceridecomponent is in a crystallized form. If so desired, the edible productof this invention may be left some time for stabilization after havingbeen produced. This results in a stabilization of the crystallized fatand an increase of the hardness of the edible product.

The inventors have also found that the edible product of the presentinvention is characterised by a texture that is harder than could beexpected from the saturated fatty acid content of the product, andharder than the traditionally known products with a similar content ofsaturated and trans fatty acids, or a similar solid fat content (SFC) at20° C.

The inventors have further found that the product shows a high oilretention capacity and that the expected spontaneous separation of oilfrom the product at room temperature does not take place, even in casethe edible product of the present invention takes the form of arelatively soft cream. This is surprising since the triglyceride part ofthe composition has a low to very low saturated fatty acid (SAFA)content and/or a low SFC at 20° C. Because of this low SAFA, the personskilled in the art would never expect it possible to obtain a structurededible product based on a fat having the triglyceride composition of thefirst claim, without spontaneous oil separation occurring at roomtemperature. Much to the surprise of the inventor, the liquid oilremains captured within the matrix of the edible product, withouttending to oil out at room temperature, i.e. separating the liquid oilfrom the solid fat. Even when contacted with other products that arecapable of absorbing oil, oil loss from the edible product of thisinvention remains negligible. The ensuing advantage is that the edibleproduct of this invention exhibits a high resistance to oil migrationeven when contacted with other products that are capable of and/or showa tendency to absorbing oil. An example of such a product is a creamwhich when contacted with a chocolate shell or when deposited on abiscuit, does not loose a significant part of the liquid oil present init. With creams showing a bad oil retention capacity, this could quicklyresult in softening and blooming of the chocolate shell and a hardeningof the cream that lost part of the liquid oil.

In the edible product of this invention, the majority of the fatty acidshas a chain length between 8 and 18 C-atoms. The remaining part can befatty acids with a shorter or a longer chain. Shorter chained fattyacids will usually present in case the edible product contains forinstance milk fat; longer chained fatty acids are present when theedible product for instance contains groundnut oil.

Hydrogenation of liquid oils or semi-liquid oils is generally consideredas a technique for producing hard fats. However, hydrogenation increasesthe amount of saturated fatty acids in the fat composition. In case ofpartial hydrogenation, trans fatty acids are built, which also givenegative health effects. For this reason, hydrogenation has got a ratherbad connotation. Although the edible product of the present inventionmay contain hydrogenated oils or fats, it is preferred to minimise oreven to avoid their use. Therefore, the present invention tends tominimise the use of hydrogenated products in the triglyceridecomposition, and tends to use triglyceride compositions which aresubstantially free of hydrogenated fat components.

According to a preferred embodiment, the edible product of the presentinvention contains expressed on the total weight of the product, lessthan 28 wt. %, preferably less than 25 wt. % of saturated fatty acids.The triglyceride composition preferably contains less than 40 wt. %,preferably less than 35 wt. %, more preferably less than 30 wt. %, mostpreferably less than 25 wt. % of saturated fatty acids with respect toits total weight. The triglyceride composition preferably contains lessthan 5 wt. % of trans unsaturated fatty acids, more preferably less than2 wt. %. The triglyceride composition further preferably contains lessthan 10 wt. %, more preferably less than 5 wt. %, most preferably lessthan 2.5 wt. % of S3. The triglyceride composition also preferablycontains at least 85 wt. %, preferably at least 90 wt. % of C18 fattyacids including saturated and unsaturated fatty acids.

Edible products with a good performance in terms of good hardness andlow STFA-content are further characterised in that their concentrationof C18 fatty acids is at least 80 wt. % with respect to the total weightof the glyceride composition, preferably at least 85 wt. %, mostpreferably at least 90 wt. %, whereby the C18 fatty acids includesaturated as well as unsaturated fatty acids with a chain length of 18carbon atoms, and thus include stearic acid, oleic acid, elaidic acid,linoleic acid and linolenic acid. A high concentration of C18 fattyacids is interesting from a nutritional point of view since C18 fattyacids, whether saturated or unsaturated in the cis-form, have a loweringeffect on total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol.

Traditionally, to obtain a fat composition or edible products containingthat fat with a harder structure, high melting triglycerides liketrisaturated triglycerides (S3) were incorporated into the fatcomposition or the edible product. These can be obtained by fullhydrogenation of oils or fats, or by fractionation of natural fats.Although these triglycerides are used because of their structuringproperties, their amount is mostly limited, because they are highmelting and can cause a waxy mouthfeel. It has now surprisingly beenfound that in the edible product of this invention high levels of S3triglycerides had an adverse effect on the hardness of the product.Therefore it is preferred to limit the S3 concentration of in theglyceride composition to less than 10 wt. % with respect to the totalamount of the glyceride composition, preferably less than 5 wt. %, morepreferably less than 2.5 wt %.

A first preferred embodiment of the edible product of this inventioncontains

-   -   a) between 95 and 100 wt. % of a triglyceride composition    -   b) between 0 and 5 wt. % of a filler material    -   c) less than 8 wt. % of water    -   d) less than 5 wt. % of one or more additives.        Other preferred embodiments of the edible product of this        invention contain between 20 and 95 wt. % of a triglyceride        composition, preferably between 25 and 60 wt. %, more preferably        between 30 and 50 wt. %; and between 5 and 80 wt. % of a filler        material, preferably between 75 and 40 wt. %, more preferably        between 70 and 50 wt. %.

Edible products according to a first preferred embodiment of thisinvention consist exclusively or almost exclusively of fat. Theseproducts are mostly intermediate products, which are suitable for use inthe processing of final products and which can be structured to obtain ahard texture. Such products, if they contain more than 25 wt. % of SAFA,will have a solid or semi-solid texture. If it is the intention to makethese products having a solid or semi-solid texture pumpable, or to mixthem with other dry ingredients, e.g. a powdery filling material, theproduct should have a softer structure or be plastic. This may beachieved by heating the edible product, in order to at least partiallymelt the solid fat. Another option to provide a softer fat, if this isthe intended application, is to make a plastic fat by decreasing theSAFA-content to below 25 wt. % with respect to the weight of the edibleproduct, preferably to below 20 wt %. Such product still has ahomogeneous structure and does not tend to oil out at room temperature.Because of their high level of unsaturated fatty acids, often additiveswill be added to these products to improve their oxidation stability.

Although within the scope of this invention, the edible product may be ashortening, the preferred edible product of the present invention is nota shortening. The edible product of the present invention is astructured fat product, which has a harder texture as compared to aplastic shortening. It is remarked that plastic shortenings are wellknown structured fat products, which may also exclusively consist offat, but they have a softer texture and a quite weak oil retentioncapacity, especially in contact with other porous materials. Accordingto “Baileys industrial Oil & Fat Products” (EdS—1996 Vol 3 pg 15 & pg120), a “shortening is a typically 100% fat product”. “ . . .shortening, margarine and spreads are formulated to possess specialphysical characteristics. These products appear to be solid yet, whensubjected to a shearing force great enough to cause a permanentdeformation, all assume the rheological flow characteristics of aviscous liquid. Such solids are referred to as plastic solids. Theirplastic nature enables them to spread readily and combine thoroughlywith other solids or liquids without cracking, breaking, or liquid oilseparating from the crystalline fat.” Shortenings find numerousapplications in baked goods, where the fat is used to prevent cohesionof gluten strands.

A second preferred embodiment of the edible product of this inventioncontains

-   -   a) between 20 and 95 wt. % of a triglyceride composition,        preferably between 25 and 60 wt. %, more preferably between 30        and 50 wt. %;    -   b) between 5 and 80 wt. % of a filler material, preferably        between 75 and 40 wt. %, more preferably between 70 and 50 wt.        %.        Products according to this second embodiment contain an amount        of fat and an amount of filler material. A typical example of a        product according to this second embodiment is a confectionery        cream containing 30 to 50 wt. % of fat, 30 to 50 wt. % of sugar        and optionally other dry ingredients, like whole and/or skimmed        milk powder, cocoa powder, etc. Products of this second        embodiment are rather final products that can be used as such or        can be part of a composed product e.g. a confectionery filling.        Those final products mostly have the structure desired by the        final consumer.

Edible products of interest to this invention preferably have a limitedwater content, which is below 8 wt. %, preferably below 5 wt. %, morepreferably below 2 wt. % with respect to the total weight of the edibleproduct. Introducing large amounts of water, like in margarines, leadsto different food systems, like for instance an oil in water emulsion,where usually additives or selected ingredients and special processingtechniques are applied to stabilise the emulsion.

The edible product of the present invention also is not an emulsion, inparticular not a W/O emulsion. W/O emulsions, like margarines, obtaintheir structure by specific emulsification and solidification techniquesand the use of emulsifiers and thickening agents and thus have astructure which differs from the structure of the edible product of thepresent invention. The product of this invention does not need to besubjected to such techniques to obtain its structure.

Preferably, at least part of the triglycerides present in the structuredfat continuous edible product of this invention are in a crystallisedform. The crystallised fat has been found to form the basis for thefat-continuous product structure, and to provide a high oil retentioncapacity. The crystallised triglycerides have been found to provide thestructure capable of absorbing and storing oil, or more generally ofabsorbing fats which are liquid at a given temperature. In the knownproducts the basis of the structure is usually provided by incorporationof an emulsifier or a non-glyceride structuring agent, or by subjectingthe product to a processing for example in baking or extrusion. Tominimise the risk to the occurrence of a sandy grainy mouthfeel uponeating, the crystal size of more than 90% of the crystallised fat issmaller than 100 μm, preferably smaller than 75 μm, more preferablysmaller than 50 μm, most preferably smaller than 25 μm. Larger fatcrystals, often are built through recrystallisation upon storage. Thisphenomenon is well known in the case of margarines, where a change fromBeta-prime to Beta crystals, results in a “sandy” product. Largercrystals are also accompanied by a weaker structure of the edibleproduct.

A strong product with a stable structure may in particular be obtainedin case at least 50, preferably at least 70, more preferably at least 85wt. % of the crystallised fat is crystallised in the Beta-form. TheBeta-form is the crystal form type V or VI as defined by Wille & Luton.

The product of this invention is characterised by a firm structure,which is built quickly after production, in particular quickly aftercrystallisation of the solid fat part, with almost no tendency topost-hardening or post-softening. There is thus no need for long storageor storage at low temperature after production of the edible product ofthis invention, to build a strong structure. The inventors have foundthat the edible product of this invention is characterised by a hardnesswhich hardly changes upon storage. In particular, the hardness of theedible product after stabilisation at room temperature during one dayafter production, and after storage for one week after production,differ less than 25%, preferably less than 20%, most preferably lesstnan 10%. Tnis is an advantage over the prior art where specialprocedures have to be applied to obtain the firm structure.

The triglycerides contained in the edible product of this invention arepreferably characterised by a specific DSC melting profile. Inparticular, the triglyceride composition present in the edible productshows a DSC melting profile in which the high melting triglyceride peakis shifted to lower temperatures of at least 2° C., preferably at least30° C., more preferably at least 4° C. when comparing the DSC profile ofa product, made according to the present invention and which has beenleft for at least 1 day of stabilisation after production, to the DSCprofile of the same product, but after the product has been heated to atemperature high enough to melt the fat, cooled without stirring at roomtemperature to solidify and left at room temperature to stabilise forone week. The DSC melting profile is measured by subjecting the productto a temperature-time regime according to which the temperature of theproduct is maintained for 3 minutes at a temperature of 20° C., followedby decreasing the temperature from 20° C. to −40° C. at a cooling rateof −5° C./min, followed by maintaining the temperature of the productfor 3 minutes at −40° C., followed by increasing the temperature of theproduct from −40° C. to +60° C. at a heating rate of +5° C./min. Toperform this measurement, preferably use is made of a Mettler ToledoStar System, however equivalent systems may be used as well. Heating toa temperature high enough to melt the fat, means at least heating to 60°C. and keeping for 5 minutes at that temperature. In products with astrong structure the peak corresponding to the high meltingtriglycerides is shifted towards lower temperatures when compared to thesame peak for the pure high-melting SUS-fat in its stable form. Productswith a weak structure, do not exhibit such a strong shift. The presentinvention therefore also relates to structured, fat continuous edibleproducts which contain, expressed on total product basis,

a) less than 30 wt. % of saturated fatty acids,

b) between 20 and 100 wt. % of a triglyceride composition

c) between 0 and 80 wt % of a filler material

d) less than 15 wt. % of water

and which show such a DSC melting profile.

It has been found that the best results in terms of hardness, mouthfeeland minimum risk to the occurrence of waxiness were obtained withglyceride compositions that contain mainly fatty acids with a chainlength between 14 and 18 carbon atoms, preferably at least 90 wt. %,more preferably at least 95 wt. %, most preferably at least 97 wt. %with respect to the weight of the glyceride composition. Althoughglycerides like lauric fats rich in C-12 fatty acids are capable ofbuilding a hard structure, they are high in saturates. On top of that,when combining lauric with non-lauric fats, the fat blend tends todisplay eutectic effects, meaning a loss in hardness. Therefore it ispreferred to minimise their use within the scope of the presentinvention.

The best results in terms of hardness, combined with a low SAFA andTFA-content are obtained with triglyceride compositions containing atleast 10 wt. % of SUS-triglycerides with respect to the weight of thetriglyceride composition, preferably at least 15 wt. %, most preferablyat least 18 wt. %. Herein S means saturated fatty acids having 16-18carbon atoms, in particular palmitic and stearic acid, U meansunsaturated fatty acids having 18 carbon atoms or more, SUS meanstriglycerides with a saturated fatty acid in the 1- and 3-position.Thereby, the fatty acid in the 1 and 3 position may be the same ordifferent. As a consequence, StOSt as well as POSt are consideredsuitable SUS-triglyceride within the frame of this invention. The SUScontent will usually be less than 45 wt. %, preferably less than 40 wt.%. The remaining part of the triglyceride composition will mainlyconsist of tri-unsaturated triglycerides.

Optimum results in terms of hardness and structure of the edible productwere obtained with a triglyceride composition in which at least 50 wt. %of said SUS triglycerides consist of StUSt and/or PUSt, preferably atleast 70 wt. %, more preferably at least 75 wt. %, most preferably atleast 80 wt. %. Optimum structure and hardness was observed withtriglyceride compositions in which at least 50 wt. % of the SUStriglycerides consists of StOSt, preferably at least 60 wt. %, morepreferably at least 70 wt. %, most preferably at least 80 wt. %, inwhich St is stearic acid, P is palmitic acid, 0 is oleic acid, S is aC16-18 saturated fatty acid and U is an unsaturated fatty acid having atleast 18 carbon atoms. In fact, it was found that SUS-triglycerides likeBOB (B=Behenic acid) had a weaker ability to build structure and thatPOP built limited structure and hardness only. Within the scope of thepresent invention it is preferred that the StOSt to POSt ratio of thetriglyceride composition is at least 2.5, preferably at least 4, morepreferably at least 5, most preferably at least 6. Triglycerides with ahigh StOSt/POSt ratio such as for example shea stearine were foundcapable of builing a firmer structure than fats with a lower ratio, suchas for example cocoa butter.

In contrast to EP-A-731.645, it was found that the presence of highamounts of SU2 adversely affects the hardness of the edible product. Inview thereof the concentration of SU2 triglycerides in the glyceridecomposition and of the structured product of this invention ispreferably limited to less than 38 wt. % with respect to the totalweight of the triglyceride composition, preferably less than 30 wt. %,most preferably less than 25 wt. %.

Another traditional way of obtaining structure in a fat composition oran edible product is the incorporation of triglycerides containing oneor more C22 fatty acids. The prior art documents describe severalcompositions, where this type of triglycerides plays an essential rolein the formation of the desired hard structure. It has now been foundwith the present invention that the use of C22 fatty acids is to beminimized as they adversely affect the hardness of edible product of theinvention. Therefore, it is preferred to limit the concentration of C22fatty acids in the edible product of this invention to below 2.5 wt. %with respect to the total weight of the triglyceride composition,preferably to below 1.5 wt. %, more preferably to below 1.0 wt. %, mostpreferably to below 0.7 wt %. It has now been found with the presentinvention that by carefully selecting the triglycerides present in thestructured edible product of the present invention, its hardness couldbe significantly increased without requiring the presence oftriglycerides containing so-called long-chain fatty acids, i.e. fattyacids having more than 20 carbon atoms.

The Solid Fat Content (SFC) of the structured edible product of thisinvention and of the triglyceride compositions at room temperature ispreferably limited. Thereto, preferred edible products containtriglyceride compositions that are characterised by a N20 of ≦40%preferably ≦35%, preferably ≦25, more preferably ≦20. The inventors havesurprisingly found that in spite of this low amount of solid fat, aproduct with a good structure at room temperature can be obtained. It isalso preferred to limit the solid fat content at 35° C., since highvalues at this temperature indicate poor melting properties in themouth, creating waxiness. Therefore it is preferred that the N35≦20%,preferably ≦15, more preferably ≦10, most preferably ≦5 wherein N20 andN35 are the solid fat content of the triglyceride part and the SFC ismeasured according to method IUPAC 2.150a.

Preferably the edible product and triglyceride composition of thisinvention comprise at least one hard or semi hard fat component and atleast one liquid component, the liquid component being at least oneliquid oil or a mixture of two or more liquid oils. The at least onehard or semi-hard fat is a fat which is a solid or semi-solid fat atroom temperature, preferably with a melting point of at least 25° C.With semi-solid fat is meant a fat that at room temperature contains avisible part of solid fat and a visible part of liquid oil. The at leastone liquid oil is an oil which is liquid at room temperature.

Preferably, the triglyceride composition and edible product of thisinvention are characterised in that the amount of the at least one hardor semi-hard fat with respect to the weight of the triglyceridecomposition ranges from 10-90 wt. %, preferably from 15-60 wt. %, morepreferably from 20-45 wt. % and in that the amount of the at least oneliquid oil ranges from 10-90 wt. %, preferably from wt. 40-85%, morepreferably 55-80 wt. % with respect to the weight of the triglyceridecomposition. The amounts of the at least one hard or semi-hard fat andliquid oil may vary, mainly depending on the hardness of the hard orsemi-hard fat that is chosen, and also depending on the envisagedhardness of the final edible product.

If a liquid oil is chosen as liquid component or part of the liquidcomponent, then preferably this liquid oil will be a vegetable oilselected from the group of rapeseed oil, corn oil, soy oil,sunflowerseed oil, cotton seed oil, maize oil, olive oil, hazelnut oil,groundnut oil, liquid fractions of palm oil or shea butter, a blend oftwo or more of the afore mentioned oils and fractions thereof. This alsoincludes varieties of afore mentioned oils, like for instance high oleicsunflower oil.

As hard or semi-hard fat, a fat will be preferably used that contains atleast 25 wt. %, 35 wt. %, more preferably at least 40 wt. % ofSUS-triglycerides with respect to the weight of the hard or semi-hardfat, the SUS-content being less than 85 wt. %, preferably less than 75wt. %, more preferably less than 65 wt. %, most preferably less than 60wt %, wherein S is a saturated fatty acid having 16-18 carbon atoms andU is an unsaturated fatty acid having 18 carbon atoms or more wherebythe SUS-concentration is expressed on the total weight of hard orsemi-hard fat. A good structure with strong oil retention capacity isobtained provided a minimum amount of SUS-triglycerides is present.Therefore the hard fat preferably contains the above mentioned minimumamount of SUS-triglycerides with respect to the weight of the hard orsemi-hard fat. The inventors have found that a stronger structure couldbe obtained with higher SUS-contents, even for products having a lowcontent of saturated fatty acids. Fats with a very high SUS-content canbe obtained by fractionation of shea butter or enzymatically preparedsymmetrical fats, or by using exotic fats like Illipe fat orAllanblackia fat, however these fats and processes are quite expensiveand the availability of these raw materials is quite limited. Very goodresults in terms of hardness and oil retention capacity are obtainedwith fats that are less concentrated in SUS-triglycerides, e.g. fatsthat are less far fractionated or even not fractionated, having anSUS-content of less than 85 wt. %, preferably less than 75 wt. %,preferably less than 65 wt. %, most preferably less than 60 wt. %.

It was found that very suitable hard fat or semi-hard fats comprisecocoa butter, shea butter, fats from illipe butter, kokum fat, sal fat,allanblackia fat, mowrah butter or mango kernel fat, enzymaticallyprepared fat or a fraction thereof, or a blend of two or more of theafore mentioned fats or fractions thereof. Shea butter has been found aparticularly suitable raw material for producing products with a strongstructure and low SAFA-content, at a reasonable cost. Therefore, thehard fat used in the structured product of this invention preferablycomprises an amount of shea butter, whereby the shea butter preferablycontains less than 7 wt. %, preferably less than 5 wt. %, morepreferably less than 4 wt. % of unsaponifiable material. The amount ofshea butter in the hard fat part can range from 5 to 100 wt %,preferably between 20 and 80 wt %. Although the StOSt-content of thisfat is only about 30 wt. %, products containing this fat show a goodstructure, good eating properties and hard structure with limitedSAFA-contents e.g. below 35 or even below 30 wt % on total fat basis.This will mostly be a non-fractionated material, although somefractionation may be applied if necessary. Natural shea butter containsunsaponifiable matter, some of which has a high melting point. It ispreferred to remove this matter before use because of its negativeimpact on the structure of the final product. Within the scope of thepresent invention, the hard fat may contain an amount of at least oneenzymatically prepared fat or a fraction thereof, said fat beingcharacterised by a SUS content between 30 to 85 wt. %, preferablybetween 35 and 75 wt %. Enzymatic fats, even if not fractionated, give agood performance when used in the structured edible product of thisinvention. If the SUS-content of the fat is increased by dryfractionation or solvent fractionation, the hardness of the product canbe improved for a given level of SAFA. SUS-levels of less than 85,preferably less than 75 wt %, suffice to make very hard products withvery low SAFA-levels. Above these levels the production costs wouldraise too much without adding benefits.

The filler material used in the edible product of this invention willusually be a non-glyceride, edible solid material. A common fillermaterial comprises at least one component selected from the groupconsisting of sugar, flour, starch, skimmed milk powder, whole milkpowder, whey powder, cocoa powder, coffee powder, food grade organic andinorganic solid powders or a blend of two or more of these. Mostly thefiller material is a powdery product with a mean particle size ofsmaller than 500 μm, preferably smaller than 250 μm, most preferablysmaller than 100 μm. This small particle size facilitates blending withthe fat to a homogeneous product, improves the structure of the endproduct, at a minimum risk to sensing graininess upon eating. However,other fillers considered suitable by the person skilled in the art maybe used as well.

The present invention also relates to a structured, fat continuousedible product with an acceptable texture, a good mouthfeel, a goodnutritional profile and a structure which is harder structure than couldbe expected on the basis of the triglyceride composition present in it,in particular on the basis of the saturated and trans fatty acidcontent. Such an edible product is characterized by a hardnesscharacterized by an R-value of at least 200, preferably at least 400,more preferably at least 550, most preferably at least 700.

A preferred embodiment of the edible structured, fat continuous productof the present invention as claimed in claim 31, is characterized by ahardness characterized by an R-value of at least 200, preferably atleast 400, more preferably at least 550, most preferably at least 700,wherein the R-value is the hardness relative to the glyceride contentand STFA-content of the glyceride composition and is defined as

R=T/(S×STFA×F)×10000

in which

-   -   T is the hardness of the edible product expressed in gram and        measured with a texture meter at 20° C. using a metal        cylindrical probe of a diameter between 2.5 and 4.5 mm, to a        penetration depth of 10 mm. When measurement to such a depth is        not possible, the maximum value found during measurement to the        maximum attainable penetration depth is taken.    -   S is the bottom surface of the cylindrical probe expressed in        mm² STFA is the sum of saturated and trans fatty acids of the        glyceride composition expressed in wt. % with respect to the        total weight of the glyceride composition.    -   F is the amount of glyceride composition with respect to the        total weight of the edible product, expressed in wt. %

In this context, the wording “hardness measured with a texture meter”,means the maximal force (expressed in gram) the instrument has to apply,to penetrate with a cylindrical probe of a certain diameter to a certaindepth into the product. This method is widely used in food industry.Instruments, using this principle that are suitable for use astexturemeter are for instance the TA-XT2 texture analyzer from StableMicro Systems (SMS), or the Stevens-LFRA Texture Analyser. Preferablyuse is made of an SMS texture analyzer equipped with a stainless steelcylindrical probe with a diameter of 3 mm operated at a probe speed of0.5 mm/sec to a penetration depth of 10 mm. Other probes and measuringconditions have been tested. However, their influence on the finalR-values measured were minimal. Texture depends clearly on the fatcontent of the edible product and it's STFA-level, i.e. its content onsaturated and trans fatty acids. Based on the R-value a relativecomparison between different products, having different fat contents andSTFA-levels, can be done.

The R-value of the edible product of this invention will usually be lessthan 10000, often less than 6000.

Those edible products will further show the above-described technicalfeatures. In these edible products

-   -   (1) the triglyceride composition preferably has an STFA-content        of less than 35 wt. %, preferably less than 30 wt. %, most        preferably less than 25 wt. %, STFA-content meaning the sum of        saturated and trans fatty acids,    -   (2) and the sum of all saturated and unsaturated fatty acids        contained in the glyceride composition having 8 up to and        including 18 carbon atoms is at least 90 wt. % with respect to        the weight of the glyceride composition, preferably at least 95        wt. %, most preferably at least 97 wt. %, The fat continuous,        structured edible product of this invention may take any form        considered suitable by the person skilled in the art, for        example it may be confectionery compositions, in particular a        cream, a coating, a tablet, a filling, a filled chocolate        product, a non-emulsified spread, a culinary product, solid fat        ingredients for food products, soft cheese, or any other edible        product known to the person skilled in the art.

The edible product of this invention may be used in the production offurther food products such as for example those selected from the groupconsisting of a filled chocolate product, a biscuit coated with a creamlayer wherein the cream layer as such may be further coated with acoating or not, a biscuit having a cream layer sandwiched between two ormore biscuits, extruded products with an interior structured filling,baked products with a structured filling, filled or topped confectioneryproducts, filled or topped culinary products or any other food productknown to the person skilled in the art.

The present invention also relates to the use of a triglyceridecomposition for producing the above-described structured, fat continuousedible product. Such a triglyceride composition preferably contains lessthan 45 wt. %, preferably less than 40 wt. %, more preferably less than35 wt. %, more preferably less than 30 wt. %, most preferably less than25 wt. % of saturated fatty acids. The triglyceride composition furtherpreferably contains less than 10, preferably less than 5 wt. % of transunsaturated fatty acids, more preferably less than 2 wt. %. In additionthe C8-18 fatty acid content preferably is at least 90 wt. %, the C18fatty acid content is at least 75 wt. %, preferably at least 85 wt. %,more preferably at least 90 wt. %, the SUS content preferably is atleast 8 wt. % with respect to the weight of the triglyceridecomposition, preferably at least 10, more preferably at least 15, mostpreferably at least 18 wt. %, wherein S is a saturated fatty acidcontaining C16-18, U is unsaturated fatty acid having at least 18 Catoms, the content of the sum of U3+SU2 triglycerides is preferably atleast 45 wt. %, more preferably between 50 and 90 wt. %, the S3 contentof the triglyceride composition is preferably less than 15 wt. %,preferably less than 10 wt. %, more preferably less than 5 wt. %, mostpreferably less than 2.5 wt. %. Preferably the triglyceride compositionhas an SFC at 20° C. of more than 5% and less than 50%. The presentinvention therefore also relates to the above-described a triglyceridecomposition and the use thereof for the production of theabove-described structured, fat continuous edible product.

The present invention further relates to the use of such a triglyceridecomposition for the production of a food product from the group ofconsisting of confectionery compositions, in particular a cream, acoating, a tablet, a filling, a filled chocolate product, a biscuitcoated with a cream layer wherein the cream layer as such may be furthercoated with a coating or not, a biscuit having a cream layer sandwichedbetween two or more biscuits, non-emulsified spreads, culinary products,solid fat ingredients for food products, soft cheese, extruded productswith an interior structured filling, baked products with a structuredfilling. These are in fact food products which contain theabove-described edible composition and triglyceride composition.

For producing the edible product of the present invention, severalprocesses may suitably be used. However, the process for producing theabove-described structured fat continuous edible product preferablycomprises the steps of blending

20-100 wt. % of a triglyceride composition

0-80 wt. % of a filler material

less than 15 wt. % of water

and the step of inducing crystallisation of the triglyceride compositioninto a stable crystalline form and building of a solid structure.Preferably all of the filler material is added at once, since additionof the filler material in a later stage induces lump formation. Therebythe edible product and triglyceride composition show the technicalfeatures described hereabove.

According to a first preferred embodiment of a process for producing theedible product of this invention, the process comprises the steps ofblending

-   -   (1) between 20 and 100 wt. % with respect to the total weight of        the edible product of a triglyceride composition in an at least        partly, preferably completely, molten form, with    -   (2) between 0 and 80 wt. % of a filler material    -   (3) and between 0 and 10 wt. % with respect to the weight of the        edible product of water,        followed by a second step which involves cooling of the blend to        a temperature between 17 and 35° C., preferably between 20 and        30° C., most preferably between 22 and 28° C., after which        mixing and homogenizing is stopped, followed by a hardening step        during which the product is permitted to build a structure upon        further cooling and stabilisation.

Cooling in the second step is preferably carried out with simultaneousmixing and homogenizing of the blend as this helps to build the finalstructure more rapidly. Final cooling after mixing may be carried outwith or without forced cooling, preferably under gentle coolingconditions. Compared to the third preferred process disclosed below, theproduct may need more time to acquire its final hardness, but it willgive a similar product in terms of hardness and nice melting propertiesin the mouth.

It is further preferred to leave the structured, fat continuous edibleproduct after a solid structure is obtained upon crystallization of atleast part of the triglyceride component, for stabilization of thecrystallized fat, with the purpose of increasing the hardness of theedible product.

According to a second preferred embodiment of a process of thisinvention, a tempering step is used whereby the above described mixturewith the triglyceride composition in the molten state is first cooled,after which the edible product is re-heated to melt unstable crystals,followed by a second cooling step. In this case, preferably use is madeof a tempering machine.

According to a third preferred embodiment of a process of thisinvention, an amount of a tempering additive is added to the edibleproduct. The tempering additive contains a minimum working amount ofcrystallized fat in the Beta-form. Examples of such tempering additivesare described in EP 294 974 and EP 276 548. The amount of temperingadditive used will usually be less than 10 wt. %, preferably less than 5wt. %, more preferably less than 2 wt. %, most preferably less than 1wt. %, expressed on total edible product. According to that process, theedible product, with its glyceride part or the majority of it in themolten form, is first homogenized, to blend all ingredients. Thereafterthe blend is cooled to a temperature below the melting temperature ofthe crystallized fat in the Beta-form, present in the temperingadditive. The tempering additive is mixed into the mass. The inventorshave found that quickly after that, the product starts solidifying.After addition, the product may be further cooled by a forced coolingstep, or it can also be further left to cool to room temperature.

When applying one of the three previous processes, the time needed tobuild the edible products' desired hardness will mostly be less than 12hours, often less than 6, most preferably less than 2 hours from thestart of the hardening step.

A fourth preferred embodiment of a process for producing the structured,fat continuous edible product of this invention, has been found to beparticularly suitably for producing edible products containing a highamount of fat, preferably 70 to 100 wt. % with respect to the weight ofthe edible product. According to that process a completely or almostcompletely molten glyceride blend, is mixed with maximum 30 wt. % withrespect to the weight of the edible product of at least one fillermaterial, while simultaneously cooling and agitation. Upon cooling thehigh melting glycerides start to crystallize, causing an increase of theviscosity. The inventors have observed that when agitation is stopped,the material builds soon a solid or semi-solid texture, meaning that itslooses its liquid, free flowing state. Agitation speed should besufficiently high in order to minimise the risk to formation of largeglyceride crystals or crystal agglomerates that could cause a grainytexture and mouthfeel. In this process, the product is preferably cooledto a temperature between 12 and 28° C., preferably between 15 and 25°C., most preferably between 17 and 23° C. with simultaneous agitation.With this fourth embodiment of the process it is possible to obtain aproduct that forms a solid texture after less than 60 minutes,preferably less than 30, most preferably less than 15 minutes afterstopping the agitation.

The edible product obtained with the preferred embodiments of theprocess for producing the edible product of this invention is alreadyobtaining structure upon partial crystallisation of the triglyceridecomposition in the blend. Thereby at least part of the filler material,but preferably all the filler material is present when blending.

In the preparation of hard, structured edible products, many processesare known that involve a heating step like cooking, baking, roasting,extrusion upon which the edible product obtains a hard structure. Theedible products according to the present invention however, obtain asolid structure upon crystallization of at least part of the glyceridecomponent. This happens upon cooling from the molten state or/and by useof a tempering additive. Crystallisation can possibly be followed by astabilization of the crystallized fat, leading to a further increase ofthe hardness of the edible product.

The invention is further illustrated in the examples and comparativeexamples given below.

EXAMPLES Example 1

A filling composition was made according to filling D of Example 3 ofEP-A-731 645. The filling recipe was as follows:

TABLE 1 Low SAFA fat I 45% Sugar 35% Skimmed milk powder 10% Hazelnutpaste 10% Lecithin 0.4% The low SAFA fat (fat I) that was used consisted of 30 wt. % withrespect to the weight of the fat composition of fat I, of SOS-fat withan IV of 33.7, and was obtained through enzymatic interesterificationand fractionation and 70% of high oleic sunflower oil. The SAFA-contentof this fat was 24.3 wt. %, the TFA-content of the fat was 0.1 wt. %.The fat phase, representing 50 wt. % of the filling, consisted of 90 wt.% of fat 1 and 10 wt. % of hazelnut oil. The characteristics of the fatphase are described in table 2 as LS Fat A.

TABLE 2 Probe diameter Probe speed STFA % N20 % N35 % C-22 % mm mm/secTexture g R LS fat A 22.9 15.6 0.1 0 3 0.5 224 276.9 LS fat A 22.9 15.60.1 0 3 1.0 273 330.9 LS fat A 22.9 15.6 0.1 0 6 0.5 839 259.3 ReferenceFat D 41.7 68.0 — 33.5 4.4 158 49.9 (*) The TFA-content of reference fatD was not mentioned and is supposed to be negligible.

The filling was made by mixing the ingredients, refining the blend on a3-roll refiner and conching at 57.6° C. The filling was then cooled to29° C. and 0.2 wt. % with respect to the weight of the composition ofChocoseed A was added. Chocoseed A is a product of Fuji Oil containing aminimum working amount of SUS-triglyceride, crystallised in theBeta-form. The filling and the Chocoseed were mixed well. AI-cups werefilled and put in an incubator at 20° C. for 24 hrs. Texture of thefilling was measured at that temperature with an SMS-texture meter,using probe of 3 mm diameter, speed 0.5 mm/sec, depth 10 mm.

For comparison with example 1, a measurement with a probe speed of 1mm/sec was also done, as well as a measurement with a probe of 6 mmdiameter. This did not significantly alter the R-value. At 20° C. atexture of 224 g was found with the 3 mm probe, giving an R-value valueof 276.9. For the 6 mm probe, T was 839 g corresponding with an R valueof 259.3, which is quite similar to the R-value with the 3 mm probe. InEP-A-731.645 it is described that reference sample D was measured with a4.4 mm probe; a texture of 158 g was found, which means an R-value of49.9.

The filling made with LS Fat A was evaluated by a taste panel, whichconcluded that it had a good, creamy mouthfeel and nice meltingproperties.

From this test it became apparent that although the LS fat A had aSAFA-content which was significantly lower than reference fat D ofEP-A-731.645 (22.9 wt. % vs. 41.7 wt. %), the structure of the fillingobtained with the LS fat A was significantly harder than the hardnessobtained with reference fat D: the R-value is more than 5.5 timeshigher. The higher hardness with the fat according to the invention wasobtained although fats described in EP-A-731.645 are claimed to combinea low SAFA-level with a good hardness in the end product. The LS Fat Aof the present invention presents the advantage that over EP-A-731.645that no special long chain ingredients like BOO-triglycerides had to beused and no long cooling and holding procedures had to be applied inorder to get a firm structure. It is further remarkable that at 20° C. amuch harder structure was obtained with LS Fat A than with referencesample D, knowing that the solid fat content at 20° C. of LS Fat A wasonly 15.6%, compared to 68% for reference sample D.

Example 2

A confectionery cream was made according to the following recipe:

TABLE 3 Low SAFA fat I 40% Sugar 30% Skimmed milk powder 30% Lecithin0.1% 

The same low SAFA fat as in example 1 (fat I) was used, meaning that theSTFA content of the total fat in the recipe was 24.4 wt. %.

A cream was prepared in 4 different ways: all methods started from themolten fat that was blended with the dry ingredients in a conche at 58°C.

Example 2.1 Method 1

Part of the product was transferred to a metal pot, which was put withits bottom in a water bath at 15° C. The product was cooled to 29° C.under continuous stirring. Then 0.2% of chocoseed A was added and mixedinto the blend. Thereafter, the product was transferred to sample cupsand further cooled down to room temperature without additional forcedcooling.

Example 2.2 Method 2

Part of the product was transferred to a metal pot, which was put withits bottom in a water bath at 15° C. The product was cooled to 28° C.under continuous stirring. Then the product was transferred to samplecups and further cooled down to room temperature without additionalforced cooling.

Example 2.3 Method 3

Part of the product was transferred to a tempering machine, type AastedAMK 50. The chocolate temperatures in zones 1, 2 and 3 were 30.1, 25.5and 27° C. Part of the tempered product was transferred to sample cupsand further cooled down to room temperature without additional forcedcooling.

Comparative Example I

An amount of product was taken from the conche and directly transferredto sample cups. No forced cooling or mixing were applied. The cups wereleft at room temperature to cool down.

The texture of the products put for 1 hour in an incubator at 20° C. wasmeasured 1 day after their preparation, applying an SMS-texture meterwith 3 mm diameter probe at a speed of 0.5 mm/sec to a depth of 10 mm.Following results were found for the texture of the differently preparedcreams:

TABLE 4 Probe diameter mm Texture g R method 1 3 764 1112.5 method 2 3501 711.8 method 3 3 835 1158.0 method 4 3 118 159.8

As can be seen from these results, methods 1, 2, 3 gave good to verygood results in relation to hardness of the end product, whereas method4, where no cooling step or mixing were applied during cooling, gave apoor structure.

The products were tasted after 1 week storage at room temperature:products made according to method 1, 2 and 3 were all very creamy andnicely melting in the mouth, whereas the product according to method 4was soft and very grainy.

Example 3

Ten different glyceride compositions were prepared by blending a liquidglyceride with a hard fat. The weight ratio liquid glyceride/hard fatwas chosen such that the STFA content of all blends was comparable levelto that of fat Nr I (24.8 wt %).

The glyceride blends were made by blending the following fats and hardfats:

TABLE 5 Composition Nr Liquid Hard I High Oleic Sunflower Oil enzymaticStOSt-fat II High Oleic Sunflower Oil shea stearine III Rapeseedoilenzymatic StOSt-fat IV Econa (diglycerides) enzymatic StOSt-fat V HighOleic Sunflower Oil cocoa butter VI High Oleic Sunflower Oil palm midfraction IV 34 VII High Oleic Sunflower Oil palm oil VIII High OleicSunflower Oil palmstearine IX High Oleic Sunflower Oil enzymatic BOB-fatX High Oleic Sunflower Oil Hydrog. Rapeseedoil MP 32The properties of these fat blends are summarized in table 6.

TABLE 6 Composition Nr STFA % N20 % N35 % C-22 % POP % POSt % StOSt %BOB % I 24.8 18.0 0.0 0.9 0 3.2 19.6 0 II 25.2 16.7 0.2 0.7 0.7 4.1 18.90 III 24.8 19.3 0.2 0.5 0.2 3.5 20.1 0 IV 28.3 24.8 0.3 0.4 1 3.6 23.2 0V 24.4 3.0 0.0 0.7 5.2 11.4 7.8 0 VI 26.3 1.0 0.0 0.7 18.6 3.7 0 0 VII23.7 4.3 0.9 0.6 10.3 2.1 0 0 VIII 24.4 12.7 6.9 0.7 7.1 1.4 0.3 0 IX24.6 22.8 12.6 16.7 0.4 0.4 0.3 16.4 X 23.9 5.3 0 0.8 — — — —All the fat compositions mentioned in table 6 were tested to assesstheir suitability for making a edible product containing 100%glycerides, with a hard structure and a low STFA-content. The testprocedure was as follows:

-   -   the hard fat was first molten and blended into the liquid part        at 60° C.    -   then the glyceride composition was transferred to a cylindrical        metal beaker with a diameter of 11 cm    -   the beaker was left to cool in a cooled water bath with a        temperature of 10° C.    -   meanwhile, the glyceride composition is stirred with an IKA        mixer type T25 basic at a speed of 13 500 rpm    -   mixing was continued until the mixture got cloudy and started        thickening    -   when mixing was stopped and the stirrer was removed, the fats        according to the present invention started building a structure        almost immediately    -   the beaker was removed from the waterbath and put at room        temperature    -   the texture was measured after 1 day according to the procedure        described in example 2, using a 3 mm probe        The procedure applied to fat Nr IX, differed in that the        starting temperature was 80° C., because of the high melting        point of the BOB-fat. The temperature reached when the stirring        was stopped is given in table 7, as well as the stirring time,        the texture measured after 1 day and the corresponding R-values.

All edible products mentioned in table 7 are composed of 100%glycerides. The edible products made with compositions I to III and Vare edible products according to the present invention, all otherproducts are comparative examples. As can be seen from table 7, the bestresults in terms of texture and R-value are obtained with the productscontaining a high amount of StOSt and/or POSt, with a tendency to betterresults for products having a higher ratio of StOSt/POSt. From table 7it also appears that the edible products according to the invention havea much harder structure, expressed by their R-value, than the low SAFAglyceride compositions known from the art although these also claim goodstructuring properties. EP-A-875.152 for example discloses fat blendscontaining a minimum amount of long chain fatty acids, with aSAFA-content of less than 50 wt % and a Stevens hardness of at least 150g. In EP-A-875.152, examples I to XIII disclose fat compositionsclaiming such properties.

TABLE 7 Composition Final T Nr STFA % stirring time ° C. Texture g R I24.8 6′ 30″ 20.7 1513 863.5 II 25.2 7′ 10″ 20.2 1814 1018.9 III 24.8 6′30″ 19.4 1496 853.8 IV 28.3 6′ 40″ 21.3 1956 978.3 V 24.4 8′ 30″ 18.0771 447.3 VI 26.3 15′ 00″  16.5 No — VII 23.7 8′ 30″ 17.6 12 7.2 VIII24.4 9′ 00″ 18.3 20 11.6 IX 24.6 7 ′30″ 28.8 179 103.0 X 23.9 11′ 40″ 16.9 No —

For comparison, in table 8, a selection is given of the best performingfat blends of EP-A-875.152, in terms of hardness versus SAFA-content.The R-value for these products has been calculated assuming aTFA-content of zero. This can only lead to an overestimation of theR-value, in case this assumption would not be fully correct.

TABLE 8 EP 875 152 Fat Nr SAFA % N20 % N35 % Texture g R ref I 34.0 25.722.9 624 120.8 ref VI 32.7 20.4 11.4 349 70.2 ref VIII 34.9 26.8 23.3423 79.8 ref VIII′′′′ 34.9 26.8 23.3 733 138.2 ref XII 26.0 12.0 5.4 13923.4 ref XIII 29.0 22.7 20.0 425 96.4From table 8 it appears that the known fat blends have a high SFC at 35°C., which means that they will create a waxy feeling in the mouth. Thehigh SFC at 35° C. can be explained by the presence of long chain fattyacids, like behenic acid, in trisaturated triglycerides. In spite ofthis, we see R-values that are several times lower than the resultsobtained in above tests. Comparative example using fat composition IX intable 7, which is a fat containing behenic acid, gave results comparableto the fats of EP-A-875.152.

Fat VIII″″ has the highest value in terms of texture and R, but thiscould only be obtained after 5 weeks storage at 20° C. The storagealmost doubled the hardness of fat VIII. Fat XII is the only fatdisplaying an acceptable level of solid fat at 35° C. and a SAFA-levelmore or less comparable to our above tested fats, but the fat ischaracterized by a very weak R-value, being 20 to 50 times lower thanthe structured fats according to the present invention.

From this example and comparative examples it appears that according toEP 875 152 a edible product with only a reasonable hardness can beobtained by forming a high melting point fat, which however results inbad organoleptic properties. According to the present invention a edibleproduct can be obtained which shows good melting properties and atexture that is even several times harder than that of the known edibleproduct.

Comparative Example II

A shortening was prepared using fat composition 1 of example 3, butinstead of high speed mixing during a short cooling period, a slowmixing was applied during a long period. The fat blend was prepared at64° C. and cooled for 100 minutes under continuous stirring in arefrigerator at 2.6° C., until a pasty mass was obtained. The blend waskept in the refrigerator overnight. The thus obtained shortening had aplastic structure, in contrast to blend 1 of example 3, which was veryhard relative to its low SAFA-content. No liquid oil separation from theplasticized fat could be observed.

The texture was measured after 1 day according to the proceduredescribed in example 2, using a 3 mm probe. The hardness measured was22.4 g, corresponding with an R-value of 12.8, which is in line withwhat could be expected from this fat, based on its low SAFA-content.However, this hardness and R-value are significantly below the R-valueof 863.5 obtained for the same mixture, applying the method of thepresent invention described in example 3. The structure of theplasticized fat was such that it could be easily blended with a powder,for instance flour. This is a characteristic which is important for thebasic application of a shortening.

This comparative example shows that a traditional shortening is adifferent type of structured fat than the structured edible products ofthe present invention, which have a much harder texture than can beexpected from their SAFA-content or their SFC at 20° C.

Example 4

A confectionery cream was made according to the recipe of table 9.

TABLE 9 Amount of components given in wt. %. Fat II 35.0% Sugar 32.5%Skimmed milk powder 32.5% Lecithin 0.4%

Fat II with a low SAFA content was prepared by mixing high oleicsunfloweroil with an SOS-fat with an IV of 33.7, in a ratio which wassuch that the content of trans and saturated fatty acids was 34.8 wt. %.A cream was made by mixing the ingredients as disclosed in table 9,refining the blend on a 3-roll refiner and conching at 55° C. The creamwas cooled to 29° C., 0.2 wt. % of Chocoseed A was added. The cream wastransferred to a plastic pot with a diameter of 8 cm until a productlayer thickness of 3.5 cm thickness was obtained. The product was leftto cool at room temperature.

The texture of the filling was measured after leaving the product for 1day at 20° C. with an SMS-texturemeter, using a stainless steel probe of3 mm diameter, speed 0.5 mm/sec, depth 10 mm. The results of thismeasurement are given in table 9a below.

TABLE 9a STFA Texture % g R fat II 34.8 3400 3951.1

From table 9a it appears that a edible product could be made with a hardstructure in spite of its low STFA-content. The product was tasted andfound to have nice melting properties in the mouth, without giving anysensation of waxyness.

Example 5

A fat composition was prepared which contained shea butter. The sheabutter contained 48.2% SAFA and 42.1% SUS-triglycerides.

This shea butter was blended with high oleic sunflower in a ratio 55/45so as to make a fat blend with a saturated fatty acid content of 30 wt.%. The content of saturated and trans fatty acids was 30.7 wt. %. Thisfat blend was used to make a cream according to the recipe in table 10.Thereto, use was made of chocoseed A, added at 29° C., followed bymixing. The cream was transferred to sample cups and further cooled in aventilated cooling device for 30′ at 15° C. Thereafter the sample cupscontaining the cream were stored at room temperature (23° C.+/−1° C.).The texture was measured at different time intervals, the results arelisted in table 11.

TABLE 10 amounts of the components are given in wt. %. Fat 37.0% Sugar38.0% Skimmed milk powder 16.0% Cocoapowder 9.0% Lecithin 0.4%

TABLE 11 g R after 2.5 hrs 551.2 686.8 after 1 day 594.3 740.5 after 1week 583.9 727.6

From table 11 it appears that even with shea butter, having a limitedcontent of SUS-triglycerides, products can be made with a strong andstable texture and a limited SAFA-content. The texture measured after 1day and after 1 week, are fully comparable.

Example 6

Three types of creams were made using different types of fat:

-   -   1. a low SAFA fat, similar to fat I from example 1, based on        enzymatic StOSt-fat in combination with high oleic sunflower,        having an STFA content of 24.5%    -   2. a highly saturated lauric fat being a combination of coconut        oil, hydrogenated coconut oil and hydrogenated palm kernel oil,        with an STFA content of 91.6% (Comparative fat II)    -   3. a hydrogenated fat based on rapeseedoil and palmolein,        combined with palm oil, having an STFA content of 56.7%        (Comparative fat III)        The characteristics of the 3 fats are given in table 12.

TABLE 12 Fat I Comp Fat II Comp Fat III SAFA 24.4 91.6 42.3 TFA 0.1 0.014.4 STFA 24.5 91.6 56.7 SFC 20 17.4 43.1 33.1 SFC 35 0.3 0.0 4.0With these fats, creams were made according to the recipe of table 10.The cream with fat I, was tempered by adding 0.2% Chocoseed A at 29° C.,followed by further cooling. The other samples needed no tempering.Sample cups were filled and then cooled during 30′ at 15° C. The cupswere then stored for one week at 20° C. to stabilise. For each of the 3creams, chocolate discs were put on top of a sample cup, covering thewhole upper area. The discs were put on top of the cups when the creamshad a temperature of around 28° C. The chocolate discs, were made oftempered dark chocolate and had a thickness of 2.6 mm. Afterstabilisation, samples of the creams were put at 3 differenttemperatures (20, 25 and 28° C.) to check stability and oil migration tothe chocolate disc.

After 1 month storage the texture of the cream was measured of anuncovered sample as well as the hardness of the chocolate disc, put ontop of a cup, using an SMS-texturemeter with 3 mm diameter probe.Blooming was followed up at 20° C. A score for blooming was given from“−” indicating no blooming, to “++++” indicating very strong bloomingThe results are given in table 13 and 14.

TABLE 13 Texture measurements Fat I Comp Fat II Comp Fat III Cream 1month 20° C. 410.7 594.0 409.3 Chocolate disc 1 month 20° C. 1937.61808.5 2181.7 1 month 25° C. 672.7 120.8 482 1 month 28° C. 256.0 No45.3

As can be seen from table 13, the three fats had a more or less similarbehaviour towards possible softening of the chocolate at 20° C., whileat higher temperatures, fat I was clearly performing the best,regardless of its high liquid oil content. At 28° C., the chocolatediscs for both comparative fats were strongly deformed, which was notthe case for fat I.

TABLE 14 20° C. Blooming Fat I Comparative Fat I Comparative Fat II 1week − − − 2 weeks − − − 3 weeks − − − 4 weeks − − − 5 weeks − − − 6weeks − + − 8 weeks +/− ++ − 10 weeks  + +++ +/−

As can be seen from table 14, fat I and Comparative Fat III, had a moreor less comparable tendency towards blooming at 20° C., while Comp FatII starts blooming earlier and stronger.

Fat I thus has a good compatibility with chocolate as well as a high oilretention capacity compared to the known fats having a higherSTFA-content.

Example 7

The shea butter of example 5 was used to make two creams which contained24.8 wt. % of STFA on fat basis. First, the amount of unsaponifiablematerial in the shea butter was reduced to 4.0%, by dissolving it inacetone at 35° C., followed by filtration. The recipe of table 3 wasused.

The fat was molten and mixed with the dry ingredients at 55° C.,followed by two different treatments:

-   -   method A, according to the invention: a sample was taken and        cooled in a metal pot with its bottom in a water bath at 15° C.,        under slight stirring to 29° C., whereafter 0.2% of chocoseed A        was added and mixed into the blend. The product was then        transferred to sample cups and cooled to room temperature        without additional forced cooling.    -   method B: a sample was taken and left to cool at room        temperature without stirring. At 28° C. part of the product was        transferred to sample cups and further left to cool at room        temperature. Method B is a comparative example.

When transferred to the sample cups, a sample of each of the creams wastaken and immediately measured by DSC using a Mettler Toledo Star Systemwith a temperature regime as follows: the cream is kept for 3 minutes at20° C., thereafter the temperature of the cream is decreased to −40° C.at a cooling rate of −5° C./min, thereafter the cream is kept for 3minutes at −40° C., whereafter the temperature is increased from −40° C.to +60° C. at a heating rate of +5° C./min. The melting profilesobtained by subjecting sample A and B to this temperature—time regime,are shown in FIG. 1. In FIG. 1 A-1 refers to preparation method A, B-1refers to preparation method B. As can be seen from these graphs, sampleA containing the temper seed shows a pronounced melting peak for thehigh melting triglyceride part at 28.6° C., which occurs at atemperature that is clearly higher than the highest melting peak ofsample B occurring at 21.5° C.

After 20 hours, again a sample of both creams was taken from theirsample cup and measured by DSC, using the same method. The meltingprofiles are indicated with A-2 and B-2. Sample A-2 shows a clear peakat 32° C., while sample B-2 shows a less pronounced profile. The texturewas measured as well after 20 hours, applying an SMS-texturemeter with 3mm diameter probe at a speed of 0.5 mm/sec to a depth of 10 mm. Thesamples were also tasted. The results obtained are summarised in table15.

After 1 week, again a sample of both creams was taken from their samplecup and measured by DSC, using the same method. The melting profiles areindicated with A-3 and B-3. The graph for sample A-3 coincides withsample A-2 showing a clear peak at 32° C., while sample B-3 shows also aclear peak now, but at a much more elevated temperature: 37.0° C.

Thus for sample A-2 and A-3, a shift for the high melting triglyceridepeak when measured after 20 hours of stabilisation after having beenproduced compared with the high melting peak of the product that hasbeen left for one week to stabilise after having been produced, of 0° C.is observed.

TABLE 15 method A method B Texture 603 no R-value 860.4 no Taste goodmelting sandy

From these results it appears that sample A obtained a strong structure.On the DSC, it shows a shift of 5° C. in melting temperature for thehigh-melting SUS-containing part of the fat composition, compared to thesame peak for sample B, once the latter is stabilised. Sample B had aweak texture and had a sandy mouthfeel, indicating the presence of largefat crystals or crystal agglomerates.

1. Structured, fat continuous edible product, wherein the edible productcontains, expressed on total product basis, l) less than 30 wt. % ofsaturated fatty acids, m) between 20 and 100 wt. % of a triglyceridecomposition n) between 0 and 80 wt % of a filler material o) less than15 wt. % of water wherein the triglyceride composition contains withrespect to the weight of the triglyceride composition p) less than 45wt. % of saturated fatty acids, q) less than 10 wt. % of transunsaturated fatty acids r) at least 8 wt. % of SUS triglycerides,wherein S is a C16-18 saturated fatty acid, U is unsaturated fatty acidhaving at least 18 C atoms, s) less than 15 wt. % of S3, t) at least 90wt. % of C8-18 fatty acids, u) at least 75 wt. % of C18 fatty acidsincluding saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, v) has an SFC at 20° C.of between 5 and 50%.
 2. Structured, fat continuous edible productaccording to claim 1, characterised in that the product containsexpressed on the total weight of the product less than 28 wt. %,preferably less than 25 wt. % of saturated fatty acids, wherein thetriglyceride composition contains with respect to the weight of thetriglyceride composition e) less than 40 wt. %, preferably less than 35wt. %, more preferably less than 30 wt. %, most preferably less than 25wt. % of saturated fatty acids, f) less than 5 wt. % of transunsaturated fatty acids, preferably less than 2 wt. g) less than 10 wt.%, more preferably less than 5 wt. %, most preferably less than 2.5 wt.% of S3, h) at least 85 wt. %, preferably at least 90 wt. % of C18 fattyacids including saturated and unsaturated fatty acids.
 3. Structured,fat continuous edible product according to claim 1 or 2, characterisedin that the edible product contains between 95 and 100 wt. % of atriglyceride composition between 0 and 5 wt. % of a filler material lessthan 8 wt. % of water less than 5 wt. % of one or more additives. 4.Structured, fat continuous edible product according to any one of claims1-3, characterised in that the product is not a shortening. 5.Structured, fat continuous edible product according to claim 1 or 2,characterised in that the edible product contains between 20 and 95 wt.% of a triglyceride composition, preferably between 25 and 60 wt. %,more preferably between 30 and 50 wt. % between 5 and 80 wt. % of afiller material, preferably between 75 and 40 wt. %, more preferablybetween 70 and 50 wt. %.
 6. Structured, fat continuous edible productaccording to any one of claims 1-5, characterised in that the foodproduct contains less than 5 wt. % of water with respect to the totalweight of the food product, preferably less than 2 wt. %.
 7. Structured,fat continuous edible product according to any one of claims 1-6,characterised in that the product is not an emulsion, in particular nota W/O emulsion.
 8. Structured, fat continuous edible product as claimedin any one of claims 1-7, characterised in that at least part of thetriglycerides is in a crystallised form for retaining the oil. 9.Structured, fat continuous edible product as claimed in any one ofclaims 1-8, characterised in that at least 50 wt. %, preferably at least70 wt. %, more preferably at least 85 wt. % of the crystallised fat iscrystallised in the Beta-form.
 10. Structured, fat continuous edibleproduct as claimed in any one of claims 1-9, characterised in that thehardness of the product after stabilisation at room temperature during 1day after production, and the hardness after storage during 1 week atroom temperature, differ less than 25%, preferably less than 20%, mostpreferably less than 10%.
 11. Structured, fat continuous edible productas claimed in any one of claims 1-10, characterised in that thetriglyceride composition present in the edible product shows a DSCmelting profile which shows a shift for the high melting triglyceridepeak to lower temperatures of at least 2° C., preferably at least 3° C.,more preferably at least 4° C. when measured using a product which hasbeen left for at least 1 day of stabilisation after production, andcompared to the DSC-profile of the same product measured after theproduct has been heated to a temperature high enough to melt the fat,cooled without stirring at room temperature to solidify and left at roomtemperature to stabilise for one week, whereby the DSC melting profileis measured by subjecting the product to a temperature-time regimeaccording to which the temperature of the product is maintained for 3minutes at a temperature of 20° C., followed by decreasing thetemperature from 20° C. to −40° C. at a cooling rate of −5° C./min,followed by maintaining the temperature of the product for 3 minutes at−40° C., followed by increasing the temperature of the product from −40°C. to +60° C. at a heating rate of +5° C./min.
 12. Structured, fatcontinuous edible product as claimed in any one of claims 1-11,characterized in that the triglyceride composition contains at least 90wt. %, preferably at least 95 wt. % %, most preferably at least 97 wt. %with respect to the weight of the triglyceride composition of saturatedand unsaturated fatty acids having at least 14 and maximum 18 carbonatoms.
 13. Structured, fat continuous edible product as claimed in anyone of claims 1-12, characterised in that the triglyceride compositioncontains at least 10 wt. %, preferably at least 15 wt. %, mostpreferably at least 18 wt. % with respect to the total weight of thetriglyceride composition of SUS-triglycerides, wherein the SUS contentis less than 45 wt. %, preferably less than 40 wt. % with respect to theweight of the triglyceride composition, wherein S is a saturated fattyacid having 16-18 carbon atoms and U is an unsaturated fatty acid having18 carbon atoms or more.
 14. Structured, fat continuous edible productas claimed in claim 13, characterised in that at least 50 wt. % of theSUS triglycerides consists of StUSt and/or PUSt, preferably at least 70wt. %, more preferably at least 75 wt. %, most preferably at least 80wt. %, in which St is stearic acid, P is palmitic acid, S is a C16-18saturated fatty acid and U is an unsaturated fatty acid having at least18 carbon atoms.
 15. Structured, fat continuous edible product asclaimed in claim 13 or 14, characterised in that at least 50 wt. % ofthe SUS triglycerides consists of StOSt, preferably at least 60 wt. %,more preferably at least 70 wt. %, most preferably at least 80 wt. %, inwhich St is stearic acid and O is oleic acid.
 16. Structured, fatcontinuous edible product as claimed in claim 15, characterized in thatthe StOSt to POSt ratio of the triglyceride composition is at least 2.5,preferably at least 4, more preferably at least 5, most preferably atleast
 6. 17. Structured, fat continuous edible product as claimed in anyone of claims 1-16, characterised in that the triglyceride compositioncontains less than 38 wt. % with respect to the total weight oftriglyceride composition, preferably less than 30 wt. %, most preferablyless than 25 wt. % of SU2 triglycerides.
 18. Structured, fat continuousedible product as claimed in any one of claims 1-17, characterised inthat the triglyceride composition contains less than 2.5 wt. % withrespect to the total weight of the triglyceride composition, preferablyless than 1.5 wt. %, more preferably less than 1.0 wt. %, mostpreferably less than 0.7 wt. % of C22 fatty acids.
 19. Structured, fatcontinuous edible product as claimed in any one of claims 1-18,characterised in that the triglyceride composition has a N20 of ≦40%,preferably ≦35%, more preferably ≦25%, most preferably ≦20% and a N35 of≦20%, preferably ≦15, more preferably ≦10, most preferably ≦5 whereinN20 and N35 are the solid fat content of the triglyceride part asmeasured according to method IUPAC 2.150a.
 20. Structured, fatcontinuous edible product as claimed in any one of claims 1-19,characterised in that the triglyceride composition comprises at leastone hard or semi hard fat component and at least one liquid oil or ablend of two or more liquid oils, the at least one hard or semi-hard fatbeing a fat which is solid or semi-solid at room temperature and the atleast one liquid oil being liquid at room temperature.
 21. Structured,fat continuous edible product as claimed in claim 20, characterised inthat the amount of the at least one hard or semi-hard fat with respectto the weight of the triglyceride composition ranges from 10-90 wt. %,preferably from 15-60 wt. %, more preferably from 2045 wt. % and in thatthe amount of the at least one liquid oil ranges from 10-90 wt. %,preferably from wt. 40-85%, more preferably from wt. 55-80%, withrespect to the weight of the triglyceride composition.
 22. Structured,fat continuous edible product as claimed in claim 20 or 21,characterised in that the at least one liquid oil comprises at least onevegetable oil selected from the group of rapeseed oil, corn oil, soyoil, sunflower seed oil, cotton seed oil, maize oil, olive oil, hazelnutoil, groundnut oil, liquid fractions of palm oil or shea butter, afraction of one of these liquid oils or a blend of two or more of theafore mentioned oils and/or fractions thereof.
 23. Structured, fatcontinuous edible product as claimed in any one of claims 20-22,characterised in that the hard fat or semi-hard contains at least 25 wt.%, preferably at least 35 wt. %, more preferably at least 40 wt. % ofSUS-triglycerides with respect to the weight of the hard or semi-hardfat, the SUS-content being less than 85 wt. %, preferably less than 75wt. %, more preferably less than 65 wt. %, most preferably less than 60wt %, wherein S is a saturated fatty acid having 16-18 carbon atoms andU is an unsaturated fatty acid having 18 carbon atoms or more. 24.Structured, fat continuous edible product as claimed in any one ofclaims 20-23, characterised in that the hard fat or semi-hard isselected from the group of cocoa butter, shea butter, illipe butter,kokum fat, sal fat, allanblackia fat, mowrah butter, mango kernel fat,enzymatically prepared fat or a fraction thereof, or a blend of two ormore of the afore mentioned fats or fractions thereof.
 25. Structured,fat continuous edible product as claimed in any one of claims 20-23,characterized in that the hard fat comprises an amount of shea butter,whereby the shea butter preferably contains less than 7 wt. %, morepreferably less than 5 wt. %, most preferably less than 4 wt. % ofunsaponifiable material.
 26. Structured, fat continuous edible productas claimed in any one of claims 20-25, characterized in that the hardfat contains an amount of at least one enzymatically prepared fat or afraction thereof, said fat being characterised by a SUS content of 30 to85 wt. %, preferably between 35 and 75 wt %.
 27. A food product asclaimed in any one of claims 1-26, characterised in that thetriglyceride composition is substantially free of hydrogenated fatcomponents.
 28. Structured, fat continuous edible product as claimed inany one of claims 1-27, characterised in that the filler materialcomprises at least one component selected from the group consisting ofsugar, flour, starch, skimmed milk powder, whole milk powder, wheypowder, cocoa powder, coffee powder, food grade organic solid powders,food grade inorganic solid powders or a blend of two or more of these.29. Structured, fat continuous edible product as claimed in any one ofclaims 1-28, characterised in that the filler material has a meanparticle size of smaller than 500 μm, preferably smaller than 250 μm,most preferably smaller than 100 μm.
 30. Structured, fat continuousedible product as claimed in any one of claims 1-29, characterised inthat hardness of the edible product is characterized by an R-value of atleast 200, preferably at least 400, more preferably at least 550, mostpreferably at least 700, wherein the R-value is the hardness relative tothe glyceride content and STFA-content of the glyceride composition andis defined asR=T/(S×STFA×F)×10000 in which T is the hardness of the food productexpressed in gram and measured with a texture meter at 20° C. using ametal cylindrical probe of a diameter between 2.5 and 4.5 mm, to apenetration depth of 10 mm S is the bottom surface of the cylindricalprobe expressed in mm² STFA is the sum of saturated and trans fattyacids of the glyceride composition expressed in wt. % with respect tothe total weight of the glyceride composition F is the amount ofglyceride composition with respect to the total weight of the foodproduct, expressed in wt. %.
 31. Structured, fat continuous edibleproduct as claimed in any one of claims 1-30, characterised in that theedible food product is selected from the group of confectionerycompositions, in particular a cream, a coating, a tablet, a filling, afilled chocolate product, a non-emulsified spread, a culinary product,solid fat ingredients for food products, soft cheese.
 32. A Food productcontaining the structured fat continuous edible product as claimed inany one of claims 1-31, characterised in that the food product isselected from the group consisting of a filled chocolate product, abiscuit coated with a cream layer wherein the cream layer as such may befurther coated with a coating or not, a biscuit having a cream layersandwiched between two or more biscuits, extruded products with aninterior structured filling, baked products with a structured filling,filled or topped confectionery products, filled or topped culinaryproducts.
 33. Use of a triglyceride composition for the production ofthe structured, fat continuous edible product as claimed in any one ofclaims 1-31, characterised in that the triglyceride composition containsless than 45 wt. %, preferably less than 40 wt. %, more preferably lessthan 35 wt. %, more preferably less than 30 wt. %, most preferably lessthan 25 wt. % of saturated fatty acids, less than 10, preferably lessthan 5 wt. % of trans unsaturated fatty acids, more preferably less than2 wt. %, at least 90 wt. % of C8-18 fatty acids, at least 75 wt. % ofC18 fatty acids, preferably at least 85 wt. %, more preferably at least90 wt. %, at least 8 wt. % with respect to the weight of thetriglyceride composition of SUS, preferably at least 10, more preferablyat least 15, most preferably at least 18 wt. %, wherein S is a saturatedfatty acid containing C16-18, U is unsaturated fatty acid having atleast 18 C atoms, at least 45 wt. %, preferably between 50 and 90 wt. %of U3+SU2, less than 15 wt. % of S3 preferably less than 10 wt. %, morepreferably less than 5 wt. %, most preferably less than 2.5 wt. % and inthat the triglyceride composition has an SFC at 20° C. of more than 5%and less than 50%.
 34. A process for producing the structured, fatcontinuous edible product as claimed in any one of claims 1-31,characterised in that the process comprises the steps of blending 20-100wt. % of a triglyceride composition in an at least partly molten form0-80 wt. % of a filler material <15 wt. % of water and of the step ofinducing crystallisation of the triglyceride composition into a stablecrystalline form and building of a solid structure.
 35. A process asclaimed in claim 34, characterized in that the process comprises thesteps of blending between 20 and 100 wt. % with respect to the totalweight of the food product of a triglyceride composition in an at leastpartly, preferably completely, molten form with between 0 and 80 wt. %with respect to the total weight of the food product of a fillermaterial and between 0 and 10 wt. % with respect to the total weight ofthe food product of water, followed by cooling the thus obtained blendto a temperature between 17 and 35° C., preferably between 20 and 30°C., most preferably between 22 and 28° C., followed by hardening thefood product to permit building of a solid structure.
 36. A process asclaimed in claim 34, characterised in that the process includes atempering step whereby the mixture containing the molten glyceridecomposition is subjected to a first cooling step to cool the mixture,followed by re-heating the composition to melt unstable crystals, and toa second cooling step to cool the mixture.
 37. A process as claimed inclaim 34, characterised in that less than 10 wt. %, preferably less than5 wt. %, more preferably less than 2 wt. %, most preferably less than 1wt. % with respect to the total weight of the food product is added of atempering additive, which is an additive containing a minimum workingamount of crystallized fat in the Beta-form.
 38. A process as claimed inclaim 34, characterised in that 70 to 100 wt. % of triglycerides withrespect to the total weight of the food product are heated until atleast partly molten and blended with maximum 30 wt. % of fillermaterial, while simultaneously cooling and agitation, at such anagitation speed that formation of large glyceride crystals or crystalagglomerates is inhibited.
 39. A process as claimed in claim 38,characterised in that the composition is cooled to a temperature between12 and 28° C., preferably between 15 and 25° C., most preferably between17 and 23° C., with simultaneous agitation.
 40. A process as claimed inany one of claims 34-39, characterised in that after a solid structureis obtained upon crystallization of at least part of the glyceridecomponent, the product is left for stabilization of the crystallized fatto obtain a food product with improved hardness.
 41. A process asclaimed in claim 40, characterised in that the product is left for lessthan 12, preferably less than 6, most preferably less than 2 hours fromthe start of the hardening step, to form a solid texture after blendinghas been accomplished.
 42. Use of the triglyceride composition of claim33 for the production of a food product from the group of consisting ofconfectionery compositions, in particular a cream, a coating, a tablet,a filling, a filled chocolate product, a biscuit coated with a creamlayer wherein the cream layer as such may be further coated with acoating or not, a biscuit having a cream layer sandwiched between two ormore biscuits, non-emulsified spreads, culinary products, solid fatingredients for food products, soft cheese, extruded products with aninterior structured filling, baked products with a structured filling.